Haas has decided to skip the two-day test scheduled to take place in Budapest after the Hungarian Grand Prix.
The team will skip the Hungaroring days — the last in-season test of 2018 — due to the hectic schedule which has seen Formula One contest five races in six weeks. Haas also stayed on at Silverstone after the British Grand Prix for two days of Pirelli tyre testing.
By skipping the tests, Haas will gain extra time off ahead of the two-week summer shutdown which follows.
“Instead of participating in the test in Hungary, Haas F1 Team is using the time to analyze the data it received from its recent Pirelli tire test at Silverstone, from past grands prix and from our simulator work,” Steiner said. “Between the data our drivers have been able to gather that is directly applicable to their driving styles in our cars, and this current run of five races in six weeks, we determined our time was best spent at the factory.”
Haas has told ESPN the decision has nothing to do with the recent antics of development driver Santino Ferrucci, who has been dropped by his Formula 2 team Trident and handed a four-race ban in that series for intentionally driving into Haas’ other development driver, Arjun Maini, after a race at Silverstone. As Haas ran its two regular race drivers at the post-Spanish Grand Prix test days, the regulations require the American team to run a young driver in Budapest.
Haas is still taking its time to make a decision on Ferrucci’s future.
“I don’t really want to explain anything because we are looking into what actually happened and what the story is, because we need to listen to all the parties,” Steiner said when asked about the Connecticut local. “For us to make a comment or do something, it is too early.
“At the moment my time is better spent working on this race and the next race before the summer break and then I will have time to look into it. It’s not at the top of my priority list, but obviously we are not ignoring it by any means. But it is still too early to make any comment and I would like to leave it at this for the moment until we know more and we have a clear picture of it.”